Rome airport Hilton—-is it that bad?

We stayed at the Rome Airport Hilton a few years ago and were very disappointed. It was quite shabby and there were homeless people sleeping in the walkways to the airport. We ate at a restaurant in the airport instead of the Hilton. If at all possible take a taxi to a hotel within walking distance of Termini so that at least you can enjoy the morning in Rome and walk to the Termini. We took the Leonardo Express train but it is not "Express" rather an old train that passes a lot of areas of graffiti. Next time we would take a taxi. If you do wake up early in Rome you could even take the Metro to the Spanish Steps or Trevi Fountain in the morning or go for a lovely walk for your exercise before taking the train to Bari.

I spent a night at the airport Hilton before an early flight and it was fine, very convenient to the terminal, clean and comfortable. The restaurant was fine, nothing to write home about but a nice dinner. I expect they do breakfast too but my flight was too early so I ate airside. Very easy to get the Leonardo Express to Termini. I didn't use the fitness room.

This was four years ago, but I can't imagine the place has deteriorated. The long check-in line can't be all the time, could have been a problem for some reviewers and not others. I don't recall a serious delay (but I hadn't just come off a long flight either). The restaurant was expensive, but that would be true anywhere around an airport where there's a captive customer base. For your purposes the Hilton would seem to be fine.

I stayed at an Air Rooms facility in Madrid and it worked for my purposes, again a place to sleep before an early AM flight. But there were no amenities other than the room and bath. It was in the terminal basement. I'd have preferred a real hotel on the airport premises, but Madrid didn't have one. Rome does, seems like a good bet for you as it was for me.

We have booked a night before our flight back to the USA at the Hilton Garden Inn. It gets a 4.0 of 5 rating. They have a free shuttle to the airport.

We stayed at that Hilton a year ago (November 2021) and found the room to be comfortable and didn't think the hotel was shabby. It's not fancy, but then it's a Hilton and it's at the airport. We had no issue with having to wait very long to check in and it was a pretty easy walk to the airport terminal for our early flight. The dinner we had in the restaurant was pretty mediocre and overpriced, as someone else mentioned. We didn't use the fitness center so I can't comment on that. Overall it was a pretty decent experience (just don't expect much from the restaurant for dinner if you do eat there).

I stayed at the Rome Airport Hilton multiple times (last one was this past July 2022), nearly always the night before my early departure from Fiumicino (once I stayed there upon a late arrival, since the next morning I rented a car and headed to Mt. Argentario).

The hotel is very conveniently located across the terminal after a short walk on the aerial skywalk.

It is true that the hotel is a bit dated, although not really bad. It is also true that sometimes the check in/out line is long (but that may vary). It is also true that the restaurant leaves a lot to be desired (especially considering the Italian culinary tradition) and is very overpriced (San Francisco prices). There is a homeless guy who sleeps on the sky walk near the hotel, but unless you arrive very late or leave very early he’ll be gone. I didn’t go to the pool (it’s indoor) but the fitness room is nice, at least as hotels go, with decent cardio and weight equipment, including free weights.

Since you are arriving at a decent time (not too late in the evening) and since the next morning you need to be at Termini anyhow, you might consider staying at the Termini station. A hotel that would probably be better than the airport Hilton probably is the Palazzo Cinquecento, right in front of Termini. Not sure they have a pool (I doubt it) but for sure they’ll have a fitness center and a restaurant. At that time of the year it may be affordable too.

The benefit of staying at the station is that you might decide to take a walk into town, and try some restaurant nearby, if you feel up to it. But if you don’t care and prefer to eat inside the hotel restaurant (however mediocre and overpriced it might be), then the Hilton at the airport would do. But I wouldn’t bother to look for another hotel near the airport, like the Garden Inn. If I had to take a taxi or a hotel shuttle off airport anyhow, then I might as well go to one near Termini and be on the way to my next leg of the trip.

Your plan sounds sensible. You aren’t looking for a fabulous experience, just a convenient one that meets your requirements. That Hilton is somewhat pricey, but you didn’t raise that issue. Don’t overthink.

We stayed there overnight in April and thought it was fine. It wasn’t a vacation destination, so what they offered fit what we needed. Where we did run into problems was finding it, at 23:00 flying from Las Vegas with the LHR layover. We did not realize that there are two Hiltons in the area. One is the Hilton Rome Airport and one is the Hilton Garden Inn. We were at the Rome Airport, but thought they had a shuttle. They do not; you walk across the skybridge toward the parking garage and follow the well-placed signs (bed symbol). We wandered for too long before we got going the right way. It was an easy walk. Maybe similar to going from Alaska check-in to light-rail station, but with moving walkways.

Hotel check-in went quickly and was well-staffed with multi-lingual staff even late at night. The room was corporate standard. I don’t remember any noise from planes. We have Hilton rewards, so breakfast was “free” and they had what we thought was an excellent buffet - and that was before COVID rules were lifted. There were lots of business people there, with more checking in as we left. We’d stay there again.

Lola - we just did the Termini to Lecce train a couple of days ago. If you’re only stopping in Bari to break up the journey, would you consider going right to Lecce? We took the 10am departure, which got to Lecce at 3:50.

I purchased our tickets early and we paid $119 per person for the Executive Class car. There are only 10 seats in the entire train car. The car comes with on-demand food service - pastas, snacks, sandwiches, soup, fruit and more, plus drinks.

It was an extremely comfortable way to get to Lecce!

We took the Leonardo Express train but it is not "Express"

Since the Leonardo Express makes no intermediate stops between the airport station and Roma Termini, it's actually an express train.

You may have taken by mistake the FL1 train from FCO to Rome that makes a lot of stops and uses old cars.

We had elevator noise in our room, and the restaurant closed early, maybe 9? 8? I can't see sleeping at an airport when you could be in Rome. But I agree that February makes an evening walk less attractive. Long lines in lobby.

Thanks, everyone. This is very helpful. After considering all the responses and our options, I agree with those who suggest we go on into Rome for a better hotel. If we take a flat-rate taxi in to the hotel (€50?) instead of waiting for the train and then having to walk or taxi to the hotel from Termini, it won’t be much trouble. And then we can walk around in Rome the next morning. We have no Rome sightseeing needs or goals, as we spent a full week there a few years ago. But we should be able to find a good place for a morning walk. And a nice restaurant for dinner.

Any hotel suggestions in a nice area with restaurant options? Mid-range, to €250 ( that is for the hotel, not the dinner!) In-room fridge or minibar and coffee maker if possible; a fitness center would be nice but not required. No pool.

Valerie—-I did consider taking the train all the way to Lecce in one day, but that would be pushing the limits of our tolerance for more sitting. We prefer to move around more the day after the flight to loosen up our backs. Also, the 10 am departure time doesn’t fit well with our plan to try to sleep in until 9 or so that day. And we wouldn’t mind a chance to look around Bari before heading to Lecce, as we won’t otherwise see it (we are doing a Road Scholar “Winter in Puglia” tour and Bari is not included).

"If we take a flat-rate taxi in to the hotel (€50?)"

Yes, that is what I paid to the airport this past Monday. Both the hotel and the taxi driver said "flat rate".

If you decided not to stay at the airport, you need to determine where in the city you'd like to stay the night before your train journey to Puglia.

I suggested the Palazzo Cinquecento, because that would make it easier to walk to the station the next day (or even to go there by train in the evening of arrival, therefore without needing to take the taxi). If you decide to stay as close as possible to the station, that is one of the top hotels.

However, other than the convenience of being near the train station for your next day departure, I'm not the most fond of the Termini Station neighborhood. There are several areas I would choose instead (Trastevere, Centro Storico), however in that case you'd need to take a taxi there from the airport (€50 flat rate), then the next day you'd need another taxi to take you (and your luggage) from that hotel to the Termini station (price will vary depending on the taxi meter, but probably in the €15-25 neighborhood.

I would first decide on the area where you want to be, then I'd use Booking (or similar website) to filter the amenities options in that area of your choice.

Just adding my comments about the Hilton for others considering it. I stayed at the Hilton airport hotel twice this year: in June the night before an early flight back to the US when I was traveling solo. I also stayed there in September the night before my daughter & my flight back to the US.

For both of those stays, the lines to check into the hotel were long - the longest lines I have experienced except for resorts. I think the check-in staff could use more training since each person was standing at the desk longer than normal.

The rooms were fine, and the beds were very comfortable. Items to make coffee in the room were available and appreciated! The restaurant gets mixed reviews from me. When they weren’t as busy, my meal was fine. When my daughter & I were there, the hotel had a tour group there, also, and the meal I ordered wasn’t sufficiently heated. It happened to be the same meal I ordered the first time I stayed there in June, also. But, I appreciated having a handy place to eat at the hotel, so I could get a good night’s sleep.

The signage was easy. I took the train from Roma Termini to the airport and walked the walkways over to the Hilton.

The hotel was a little pricey, but it saved me from taking a taxi both trips out to the airport, and I could sleep a little later those mornings of early flights.

Lola…that’s funny! I’m on that tour right now…just the longer version. Same hotels, same guide. Anything you want to know? The Lecce hotel is nice…Martina Franca hotel is pretty meh.

The area is a bit busy (maybe not so much in February) but we enjoyed staying in the Campo di Fiori neighborhood last week. It’s an easy walk over Ponte Sisto to some nice restaurants in the Trastevere neighborhood. We had a good stay at Smeraldo Hotel - renovated since our last stay there several years ago. They have a good breakfast and the rooms are comfortable. From there, you can get a taxi to Termini.

Valerie, what a coincidence! I don’t have any questions, yet, but am interested in how you are finding the tour. Too bad about the Martina Franca hotel, but we will survive.

Roberto, I looked at Palazzo Cinquecentro by the station and found it well-priced and attractive, and it meets our needs and desires. But I do have reservations about the train station location for our walking around.

Since we have Marriott points to spend I am now looking at the Regency Rome on Via Veneto, which looks to be quite close to the Villa Borghese grounds and not a long taxi ride from the Termini station. Quite a step up from my original thought of the airport Hilton, but I am sure it would make a nice start to our trip.

My wife and I stayed there just last week and shared some of your concerns, based upon the reviews. We found the hotel clean, the beds were comfortable, and being able to walk directly to the departure gates in 15 minutes was perfect for us, since we had a 6:30 departure. We considered the nearby Hilton Garden Inn but decided our only reason for sleeping near the airport was to gain the easiest possible access to the terminal, so decided to pay a bit extra to get that.

We did consider booking a very early taxi from where we'd been staying (Hotel Smeraldo, near Campo di Fiori), which I'm sure would have worked just fine but decided we were willing to give up an evening of atmospheric charm downtown to gain the lowest-possible anxiety option to begin our trip home.

We did find the Hiton a bit dated (and of course had all the charm you'd associate with a large American chain airport hotel) and ate dinner there; the restaurant was spendy -- especially compared to what we were used to spending at restaurants around Italy -- and the food was OK but nothing special (we went with the burger rather than anything Italian). The restaurant was jammed (and the hotel fully booked), and our server said they'd been that way for some time.

Check-in went quickly enough although there were a couple of people ahead of us, and check-out the next morning was flawless. All the hotel and restaurant staff were pleasant and efficient.

In a similar circumstance we'd stay there again.